May The Pilgrim deeply touch your soul…

The Hands

Astrid Mendez

Artist, Industrial and Graphic Designer, Puppet-Maker and Performer.

For more than ten years she has been artfully weaving her training as a designer with her inner most passion for theatre and puppets. Her projects have consistently been the result of her yearning to create and expand her talents, and her commitment has become both a challenge and an outlet; a discipline and a passion.

Born in Chilean Patagonia, at a very early age, she identified her interests and abilities for multiple visual art expressions. However, drawing and modelling were two activities that she would persist in doing until present.

Any experience can be a source of inspiration for her, and her training as an Industrial Designer has helped her model and direct her creative processes.

In 2006 she obtained her degree as an Industrial Designer from Universidad de Chile and started a part-time job with a children’s theatre company called La Maleta – a collaborative project that lasted five years.

After eight years working in the design industry, she finally decided to take her career as a Designer to a more artistic and cultural edge. And it is precisely because of this persistence that ‘The Pilgrim’ came into existence during a residency with the artist Natacha Belova in Chile in 2015. Since its creation, this performance has been presented in several locations in South America and Australia.

Over the past six years, she has been participating in performances and cultural projects related to theatre and puppetry in Australia. Through experimenting and creating tiny puppets for personal use and minor events, she has discovered and developed a passion for the miniature world.